


Bane of the Doctor: Coda

by RodimusDoctor



Series: Bane of the Doctor [18]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Paper Man (2009)
Genre: Gen, Science Fiction, The TARDIS - Freeform, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-04-17 21:04:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4681415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RodimusDoctor/pseuds/RodimusDoctor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcome to Bane of the Doctor: Coda. As I said in the notes at the end of my recent Doctor Who epic, I felt there were a few loose ends... loose ends that could be springboards into new stories! Each chapter either picks up from a point in Bane of the Doctor that wasn't fully fleshed out (like what happened to the 8th Doctor and Clara while they were gone), or a point where a character exits the story (such as the 10th Doctor, after 11 and 8 dropped him off) and explores what happens next. It is then my intention to write new stories based on these chapters.</p><p>Hey, it's a chance to have more fun in this universe. I can't get enough of the good Doctor. Nor should I!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Paper Doctor

Intro:  
This first chapter of Bane of the Doctor: Coda reveals where the 10th Doctor was dropped off near the end of Part 16: The Doctor, Saved. I decided to do a crossover with the 2009 movie Paper Man, starring Jeff Daniels and Emma Stone. Emma's character - Abby - always struck me as a perfect Doctor Who companion, if only the two ever met. Here, they do!

 

Story:

The Doctor groaned, then covered his eyes from the glare. He felt terrible, like he’d been turned inside out and thrown into the time vortex. Perhaps he had been.

He was lying on what felt like a firm yet pliable mattress, one of those things that conform to the shape of one’s body. He flexed his other hand and pressed it down, then made a fist. The surface he lay upon was granular and fine - not a mattress, then.

Sand.

Nearby, he could hear the sound of waves gently running ashore, then rushing back out again.

A beach? Not a very warm one. Temperature didn’t bother him in the way it did other species, but he could tell this wasn’t a summer day in California. Especially around his toes...

The Doctor raised his head, and realized he could see his toes. Where were his trainers? Or his coat? He had on a collared dress shirt and trousers, but nothing else.

What had happened to him? Where was he? And where was the Tardis?

“Oh. It’s you.”

The Doctor looked to his right and saw a dark-haired teenage girl approaching. She wore dark jeans and a jacket that didn’t quite look warm enough for the chilly air.

“Are you okay?” she asked, crouching down beside him. “When those guys jumped you last night...”

“Excuse me, but have we met?” the Doctor asked. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn’t find her in his mind. There were gaps in his memory, an annoying and troubling blankness.

“It’s Abby,” the young girl said. “We hung out yesterday, remember?”

“I’m afraid I don’t,” the Doctor said, sitting up and shaking the sand out of his hair. “There’s a lot I don’t remember, actually. I don’t know how I got here, or even where here is. Or what happened to my shoes.  
“Abby,” he looked directly at her, “did you get the sense that we’d gotten along?”

“Well, yeah, we did,” Abby told him. “They must’ve hit your head really hard.”

“They must have, yes,” the Doctor felt his head, but did not find any evidence of an attack. “I don’t remember them, either, but perhaps that’s for the best.”

“Well, this is Long Island,” Abby said, and shivered as she stood. “I’m cold. I’m going home. You want to come over?” She looked down at him hopefully. “I’ll make soup.”

“You know what, Abby?” the Doctor replied, cracking one of his trademark grins. “I’d love some soup!”

She extended a hand and helped him up, and together they left the beach.

“That... thing we talked about yesterday?” Abby said. “You can still help me with that, right?”

“I don’t see why not,” the Doctor told her. “If I thought I could before, I should still be able to now. You’ll have to refresh my memory, though.  
“And a couple of things before soup-time. Have you seen a large wooden blue box anywhere about? And, and this is quite possibly the most important thing, have you got a spare pair of shoes?”

To Be Continued in...

Abby and The Doctor


	2. Scarecrow Delivery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, the 11th Doctor and Clara return Dr. Crane (the Scarecrow) back to 20th century Gotham City. I chose to set it in the continuity of the late 80s/early 90s DC Comics, not long after the KnightFall/KnightQuest/KnightsEnd and Zero Hour storylines. Also, I figured with the way the Doctor travels around, he'd probably run into Batman a few times before, if not Commissioner Gordon or current Robin Tim Drake.

Police Commissioner James Gordon stood on the roof of police headquarters, next to the Bat Signal, waiting for his friend. He thought he might be getting savvier at sensing the Batman’s arrival; he was certain he heard a faint ruffling of cloak just before:

“Scarecrow.”

Gordon turned and saw both members of the Dynamic Duo on the ledge behind him. As usual, it was straight to business with those two.

“He escaped while en route back to Arkham Asylum last night,” the Commissioner told them. “An unknown accomplice forced the armored car off the road with some form of energy weapon, injuring the driver and two officers in the process. The rest were taken down in hand-to-hand combat with the assailant, described as a well-built Caucasian male in a black body suit. If not for the absence of a cape and cowl, they said it could have been you.”

“This guy, he took the Scarecrow?” Robin asked.

“After removing him from the van,” Gordon said, “the only officer who remained conscious said the assailant tapped something on his wrist, and then he and the Scarecrow both vanished into thin air without so much as a flash.”

“A teleport,” Batman said.

“Who do we know with tech like that?” Robin asked.

“Plenty,” Batman replied. “But whom among them would want...” he paused, raised his head.

“What is it?” asked Gordon, and he clutched at his coat due to an unexpected breeze. The costumed heroes’ cloaks also billowed in the sudden wind.

And then, a wheezing noise.

“What on Earth?” Gordon said.

“Just the opposite,” Batman told him with a rare smile. “I know what that is.”

Across from the Bat Signal, a blue rectangle started to form on the roof. Commissioner Gordon drew out his service revolver and pointed it at the appearing object, which now had a flashing light on its roof. Gordon frowned; police box?

“Put that away, Jim,” Batman stepped down onto the roof and laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “The Doctor doesn’t like guns.”

“Doctor?” Gordon asked.

“Doctor who?” added Robin.

The blue box with the flashing light solidified, and the wheezing noise stopped. A moment later the flashing light stopped as well. Gordon was wary, but trusted his friend enough to lower his weapon.

The doors on the front of the box opened, and a young man in a bowtie bounded out.

“Na na, nana, nana, nana,” the man said with the brightest of excited smiles as he pointed at the caped crusader. “Bat-Man!”

The Dark Knight groaned inwardly. What had happened to the brooding short-haired man in the leather coat? Or the short man in the checked trousers and question-marked vest (the Riddler had loved that one)? At least it wasn’t the curly-haired mass of teeth in the ridiculous scarf.

There was no doubt in the Batman’s mind that this man was the Doctor, however; there was an energy and presence to that man, no matter what he looked like.

Apparently, the man in the bowtie hadn’t finished talking.

“And Commissioner Gordon! Lovely to see you again,” the Doctor said, taking Gordon’s hand and pumping it - but not before expertly removing the gun from Gordon’s hand, dismantling it and dropping it to the roof. “Or, in your case, for the first time. Or is it? Hard to keep it straight sometimes, the way I bounce around.  
“And Robin! You’re number three, am I right?”

Robin’s eyes widened. So did the Batman’s.

“Number three?” Commissioner Gordon asked.

“Yes, number three, as in third-best sidekick,” the Doctor added hurriedly. “Two for the longest time, of course, but I hear AquaLad’s really surging in popularity these days...”

“Why are you here, Doctor?” Batman asked.

“Yes, right to the point, good. I like getting to the point. Happens eventually if I talk long enough. Clara!” he called over his shoulder, “bring our guest out!”

A young, dark-haired woman emerged from the Tardis, leading a masked man bound by his hands and feet. She tugged on his outfit and he hopped forward out of the blue box and onto the roof with the others.

“May I present Clara Oswald, my partner in crime-fighting,” the Doctor said. “My Robin, you might say! And with her is one Doctor Crane, aka...”

“The Scarecrow!” Commissioner Gordon exclaimed. “Where on Earth was he?”

“He wasn’t,” the Doctor said. “On Earth, I mean. We found him on New Earth, in Neo Gotham, over a billion years in the future. Gave us a merry chase, but nothing we couldn’t handle with your billion-years’-hence counterparts.”

“There’s a Batman and Robin a billion years from now?” Robin asked.

“Yes! Holy future, am I right?” the Doctor said. “Oh wait, that’s not you at all. Never mind. Long story.”

Commissioner Gordon walked over to Clara to take Doctor Crane into custody. He looked through the open Tardis doors, and nearly lost his mind.

“It’s...” he began.

“Yes...?” the Doctor said expectantly.

“Smaller on the outside,” Clara said, and she gently turned the Commissioner away. “Probably best if you don’t look too hard.”

“The man who took Crane,” Batman said to the Doctor. “What about him?”

“Gone,” the Doctor replied, and there was a darkness in his eyes the Batman had never seen there before. It was gone in an instant. “Out of the picture. Out of the universe, actually. He won’t be bothering any of you ever again.

“Well, time we were off. One master criminal returned to his proper place in spacetime, so our work here is done.” He backed toward the Tardis as he spoke, hands flapping about like a madman.

Robin caught Clara’s eye and waved, but she did not return the gesture. There seemed to be a sadness about her, a heaviness of spirit. Robin could relate; he lived with it every day.  
Clara entered the Tardis first, and the Doctor followed.

“Until next time, gentlemen!” the Doctor said from the Tardis doorway. “Same bat time, same bat channel!” He offered a final grin and dashed inside, and a moment later the Tardis began to dematerialize.

“What a strange person,” Commissioner Gordon said, and turned to discover to his complete lack of surprise that Batman and Robin had left as well.

“Let’s go, Crane,” Gordon said, securing the villain in handcuffs before removing the ropes around his hands and feet.

“I killed all of your descendants,” the Scarecrow said.

“Did you, now?” Gordon replied. “I’m sure that will be a fascinating story for you to tell to the staff at Arkham.”

Gordon led the Scarecrow to the stairs, switching off the Bat Signal on his way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, how the Doctor, Clara, and the descendents of Batman, Robin and James Gordon caught the Scarecrow in Neo Gotham is a whole other story. Comment below if you'd like me to tell it!


	3. The Doctor, Afraid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Part 10: The Lab of Doctor Crane, the 8th Doctor and Clara abruptly leave the story. The Doctor, sprayed with the Scarecrow's fear toxin, is in a frantic and dangerous state of mind. Clara, who had taken shelter in the Tardis with him when the Ogrons attacked, realizes she is trapped with a madman in a box...

The 8th Doctor thrashed around his Tardis, screaming at his terrors. He got his hands on his hatstand, and wielded it like a club.

“No! Not again!” he cried, and smashed his antique record player. Another swing, and his rocking chair was kindling.

The fear was crippling, overpowering, all-consuming. He fell to his knees and clutched at his swimming head, trying to form a coherent thought.

Then he noticed a young lady standing near the console, watching him.

“You!” the Doctor pointed an accusing finger at her. “Never again. Never!”

The young lady turned to run. He rose to follow, but another sharp terror tore through his mind. The Doctor dropped the hatstand, fell to his knees again, and screamed up at the Tardis console. 

Enemies everywhere...

Escape...

Run...

Hide...

He slapped at the console, activating... something. The Tardis was in motion. Escape had been achieved.

“Doctor?”

No...

The young lady was still there! In the Tardis!

“It’s just a fear toxin,” the young lady’s voice said. “Just hang on, you’ll be fine...”

A hand touched his shoulder.

The Doctor swung around and swatted the young lady away. She cried out in surprise and shock even as she hit the floor and slid into the nearest pillar.

The fear was changing. Becoming anger. Rage.

“All right, I understand you’re not yourself,” the young lady rose unsteadily to her feet, clutching her side where he’d hit her. “This isn’t you. Well, the you that you were. But my Doctor would never hit me. So come on, snap out of it!”

The Doctor was on his feet in a flash. Attack me in my own Tardis, will you?

“Snap out of it... please?” the young lady said. There was fear in her voice. 

Good, the Doctor thought. You should be afraid! I’ve stared down the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Sontarans, even a venom-spitting Master! This little slip of a girl did not know who she was dealing with!

The Doctor charged. The young lady - Clara, her name was? - dodged to one side and he rammed into the pillar. It barely slowed him at all. 

Clara - he was sure that was her name - ran around the console. The Doctor tried to catch her, but she circled away from him and kept the console between them.

“Doctor, stop this!” she cried. “In the future - your future - we travel together. We’re very good friends!”

Trying to trick me, the Doctor thought, and faked left before lunging right.

Clara wasn’t fooled; she ran left.

The Doctor tried again. And again Clara eluded him. So the Doctor leapt over the console at her. He missed; Clara screamed, turned and ran. She might have had a chance if she’d run deeper into the Tardis, the Doctor thought. Sadly for her, she’d run toward the doors. They were in flight; there was nothing beyond those doors but empty space.

The young woman seemed to realize this; she stopped, turned around and backed toward the doors.

The Doctor advanced. He had her now! All enemies of the Doctor must...

Must...

He hesitated.

Clara seemed to take that as a good sign.

“That’s it, Doctor, stop!” she said. “You don’t want to do this. You don’t want to hurt me.”

She continued backing away as she spoke. The Doctor watched her, standing still, trying to think.

She’s an enemy!

How do I know she is an enemy?

She hijacked the Tardis!

Did she? I don’t remember that. And her theory about a fear toxin is really most credible...

“We’ve only just met, you and I,” Clara told him, “but I know you, the future you, very well.”

She’s trying to trick you!

The Doctor took a step forward.

“And I know he would never harm me,” Clara went on. She retreated another step, and her back touched the doors.

“You’ve been hit with a fear toxin,” she repeated. “You are not thinking straight, but you must!”

Was that true? He seemed to remember...

Of course it isn’t true! She’s lying!

“You’re not yourself,” Clara said, and her hand fumbled behind her for the door handle. “But I know the Doctor is in there.” She opened the doors, revealing the starscape behind her. “The Doctor saves people,” she went on, and took a step closer to the void. “Show me you know who you are, Doctor, and save me.” She hesitated on the threshold, her breath coming quickly. “Save...”

The Doctor strode forward and pushed her out the doorway. The look on her face as she drifted away - the hurt, betrayal and terror...

She’s your enemy! Enemies deserve...

“No,” the Doctor said. The young lady was right - he was not himself. He was the Doctor, not a murderer.

“No!” the Doctor shouted, and he leapt out the Tardis doors into space after her.

He caught Clara a second later and pulled her into his arms. His moment of triumph was ruined by the realization they were about to exit the Tardis’ air bubble. He had no tether; he and Clara were going to die in the vacuum of space.

She tricked you!

I really don’t think she did...

She lured you into a trap!

We’re both going to die...

She dies knowing that she killed the Doctor!

As those thoughts went through his head, the Doctor and Clara passed through the outer limit of the air bubble. The frigid emptiness hit their skin like liquid nitrogen; the Doctor had known it was coming, but Clara gasped at the shock of it. She tried to breathe and could not, and the realization of death formed in her eyes.

The Doctor knew he was doomed as well.

But she’ll die first!

No, he thought, she won’t, and he pressed his lips onto Clara’s and exhaled.

What are you doing?

Saving one last life, he replied to the fear. Even if it’s only for a few more moments.

You fool!

To the end, yes.

As the Doctor began to lose consciousness, he became aware of an energy field surrounding him and Clara. Were they being rescued? There’s a bit of luck, he thought, just before everything went grey...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Be Continued In:
> 
> 50 Shades of 8


	4. Dirge Manson Reborn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirge Manson emerges from the time-stream and finds himself in the town of Christmas, on Trenzalore. He's just in time to witness the Doctor's death...

Time and I are one.

I am aware of myself, but only just. I have memories of a different state of being, a time when I had a purpose only to lose it. Purpose has no meaning to me now, in this state, but I find the memories intriguing.

I am Dirge Manson. I tried to destroy the Doctor. I wanted to bring honour back to my father’s name.

And I failed. That doesn’t matter now, but I feel that it should. Feel... no. I don’t feel. I remember feeling, but I am one with time and feelings are irrelevant.

How did I come to be here? I remember... the space/time vortex tore open all around me, and this state is all I have known since then. What was it that put me here?

Her!

River Song enters my field of vision, her holomatter projector barely producing the faintest image. There is a malfunctioning vortex manipulator attached to that projector; River brought it into contact with my own, resulting in a tear in space/time that swallowed us both.

River is responsible for this living death I am trapped in. I feel nothing, but I remember rage very well. I reach out, grab her holoprojector and crush it. The look on her face as I do so is one of surprise and horror.

I treasure it.

I am able to treasure it...

The vortex spins around me, and I realize too late that I have crushed River Song’s manipulator along with the projector...

And suddenly I am out of the vortex and falling through the air of a dark planet. I hardly have time to wonder where I am before I crash through several tree branches and land on my back on snow-covered ground.

I can most certainly feel again; I can feel every bone of mine that has broken, including my spine, my neck, and my skull.

I am dying, in agony. I deserve no less.

Somewhere nearby, a battle is taking place. I’d recognize those sounds anywhere. I wonder where I’ve ended up, then decide I don’t care. Because I’m dying.

I’m... tingling. A warm, healing sensation. There is light all around me. I feel light-headed, yet... energized.

I raise my hands in front of my face. They are glowing. Energy flees from each fingertip. Am I...

...regenerating?

I rather think I am. Oh, Doctor, I am not finished with you yet! I throw my arms wide and give in to the process, and am remade.

 

I’m on Trenzalore. The hapless youth I just killed was most informative. He told me the name of the planet, the town he lived in, and the man who runs the town and protects it from invaders from space.

I cannot believe my good fortune. I had thought my existence over; instead I stand reborn on the outskirts of Christmas, where I shall have the proverbial front row seat for the death of the Doctor!

I am so elated by this fortuitous turn of events that I almost fail to notice the Daleks advancing up the main drag behind me.

“Exterminate! Exterminate!” they shout, and I leap for cover. Deadly energy blasts slice the air above me.

There really isn’t much cover in the main square in front of the town hall. I regain my feet and run inside. I vault up the stairs, passing a strange crack in the wall, and before I know it I’m face-to-face with Clara Oswald.

“Is that you, Barnable?” a weary but familiar voice asks. The Doctor! There he sits, decaying and decrepit, clearly on his last legs. I decide to pretend I am this Barnable, but my body replies by saying:

“No.”

Strange. I’d definitely meant to say yes. It does not appear to matter, though. Neither of them recognizes me, and they are barely aware of my presence.

The Daleks call the Doctor out. He heads for the balcony after urging Clara to save herself. One last victory.

I consider snapping her neck, just to take that away from him. Instead I hide in the background. I want to see the Doctor die.

But he doesn’t. A crack appears in the sky, and energy flows into him. I step closer to get a better look...

The Doctor throws his right arm at the sky, and a stream of energy shoots out and destroys one of the flying Daleks. His left arm does likewise, swatting more Daleks out of the air. Then he aims both arms at the Dalek mothership and destroys it.

And I realize... the Doctor has just taken a life. Several lives! Dalek lives, yes, but still sentient creatures.

It is simply a matter of time now until my programming takes effect...

Then the Doctor’s regeneration goes into full swing. I am blasted backwards, and that is the last thing I remember for a while.

 

When I awaken, the Doctor and his Tardis are long gone. The townspeople celebrate, but mourn the departure of their hero. The sky is empty of enemy vessels, and there isn’t a Dalek in sight.  
I leave the town of Christmas, no destination in mind. Is there anywhere else to go on Trenzalore? I don’t know, nor do I care to find out. I just can’t - won’t - remain in Christmas.

I will escape this world, this time zone. I will find my way back to the Doctor, and I will watch him destroy himself.

Fear me, Doctor!

I shall be your bane yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I went ahead and resurrected Dirge Manson, after 'killing' him at the end of Bane of the Doctor. What can I say? I love my villain too much to let him stay dead. And does any villain really die in Doctor Who? Well, certainly not the popular ones. Or the personal favourites!


	5. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one's basically a wrap-up, tying the last few loose ends and setting the story's place in continuity. It's been a fun ride, but this is the last word on Bane of the Doctor.

When the Doctor bade farewell to Abby, he was feeling more or less himself. The gap in his memory was troublesome, but the intense emotional turmoil seemed to have settled down.

He resumed his travels. Ended up on Mars at a fixed point in time. Nearly cracked. He sensed the end was close. When the Ood summoned him, some of the fear came back. He held it in and ran in the opposite direction.

He ran into himself while courting Queen Elizabeth and tracking Zygons. Had no idea he’d met his 11th incarnation before.

More adventures. More fun. And a growing sense that he was just delaying the inevitable. When his sense of responsibility outweighed his fear, he returned to the Ood.

And the end of his time began. But, even though he knew he was heading for his death, when the Doctor learned of the Master’s return, he didn’t hesitate. He threw himself into the fray, battling not only the Master and a rich tycoon but the High Council of Time Lords as well.

And when death came, he faced it alone, and he faced it bravely.

A crucial piece of Dirge Manson’s brainwashing failed, and the Doctor’s final incarnation was born.

 

Following the return of Doctor Crane to 20th century Gotham City, the 11th Doctor and Clara spent some time apart. Clara needed space to mourn the 8th Doctor and move on, and the Doctor spent some much-needed down time with River Song. 

And when he was ready, he sought out his impossible girl once more. There were adventures to be had, worlds to be saved, and monsters to be defeated.

When he ran into two of his previous incarnations, they gave no indication that they’d met him before.

All was as well as it could be.

For now.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my blogs at: http://worldsoftim.blogspot.ca/  
> https://timothycarterauthor.wordpress.com/
> 
> And you can find my latest novel, Apoca-Lynn, for sale here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/528745

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Abby & The Doctor](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6477652) by [RodimusDoctor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RodimusDoctor/pseuds/RodimusDoctor)




End file.
